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General Category => Bike Help => Topic started by: Mike Duluth on February 20, 2013, 11:23:47 AM
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Got a hankerin to buy an 04 honda rc51. Any thoughts on the bike good or bad, I know they are torque monsters, but that's about all I know. It is on ebay, take a look, what do ya think it's worth?
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With the right muffler, they are the best sounding twin in the world!
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they are very uncomfortable, and LOUD as hell with the "right" muffler on them.
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According to the latest issue of Motorcycle Consumer News:
06 - $7360
05 - $6506
04 - $6195
03 - $5210
02 - $4355
01 - $3980
00 - $3725
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Loads of personality: looks, sound, spirit. No other bike like them, I always thought they were cool.
Though $5210 seams high to me for a 10 year old bike ....
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Looks like I picked one up in Louisville. I have someone going to get it this Sunday, I will get it on my spring run to the Gap. Please, if you know anything about these things, keep the info coming, good or bad. The bike sounds a bit spooky to ride.
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A 10 year old model probably won't get to 205 mph like the ones out of the crate. ;)
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A 10 year old model probably won't get to 205 mph like the ones out of the crate. ;)
there's a joke that might be a little too "inside baseball" for some. Clever though, Paul :)
http://cbrforum.com/forum/off-topic-6/205-mph-ticket-107/ (http://cbrforum.com/forum/off-topic-6/205-mph-ticket-107/)
http://www.sportbikes.ws/showthread.php?p=513259 (http://www.sportbikes.ws/showthread.php?p=513259)
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The RC51s have held their value well, but then again they pale in value compared to their RC brethren. RC30s are not solidly over $20K and RC45s are nearing $30K. With this in mind, I think these have held their value better because they were developed "specifically for racing" and were successful in racing. Sold alongside the 954RR and 1000RR CBRs, they were special in comparison, somewhat the way an "R" model Ducati is special in comparison to other Ducati superbike models. Unlike Ducati, which regularly produces "limited edition" race models, Honda does so infrequently, so when Honda produces one, they get valued at a premium.
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I only know one guy who rode one and he said it was a "not good" street bike not because the bike is bad but because it just is a bit much to ride on the street. Not real sure what that meant but looks like some others have said it's probably just uncomfortable. That can be subjective.
I second that they are one of the best sounding bikes in the world and they look great. However, be prepared to look for gas often. Those and the VTR1000 are thirsty bikes.
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I had a Superhawk and can vouch for the pathetic fuel range. Managing fuel was too much of a distraction on those long Wis rides.
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Riding to TWISTAR a few years back we had an RC 51 in our group. It ran out of fuel a couple miles this side of Arcadia. The range on these bikes is almost as bad as the Superhawk. They are uncomfortable but no worse than my 2000 Ducati 996. On the plus side they look very cool and they sound even better!
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I know about the milage on these big v twins, seems most of them have a short range. This bike is more of a novelty for me, don't have the money to keep a Duc going, so this will be the closest thing in my stable.
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haha
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Hopefully my bud Matt will get out with us for a few rides this season, and he'll have all kinds of info on the RC for you. That's what he had prior to the CBR, including street and track time on it. RC was on my shopping list prior to getting my Falco...guess I'm just a sucker for a V-Twin? I'd definitely have one in "the (mythical) collection", but at this point it would have to wait for the Motard, ADV and Touring slots to get filled first. Anyway, keep yours low-mile, and I'll check back, mmmm, Spring of '15 :).
+Wade
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Hopefully my bud Matt will get out with us for a few rides this season, and he'll have all kinds of info on the RC for you. That's what he had prior to the CBR, including street and track time on it. RC was on my shopping list prior to getting my Falco...guess I'm just a sucker for a V-Twin? I'd definitely have one in "the (mythical) collection", but at this point it would have to wait for the Motard, ADV and Touring slots to get filled first. Anyway, keep yours low-mile, and I'll check back, mmmm, Spring of '15 :).
+Wade
Nice logic Wade,
A couple of friends of mine from NY/NJ who own them and they loved them. One had it all tricked out for track use only all carbon and after market exhaust suspension etc. and he used to rip pocono speedway on it. The other, an ex pro racer from the 60is who rides on the street in a complete stock form.
Personally I have never been on one, but to me, the way they look and sound is kinda intimidating.
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I've had the pleasure of following a RC-51 two times. Once down the straight away at BIR, the other heading North on 35 just South of Alma.
Both times the bar ends weights came off and bounced over my head.
Don't feel bad if I don't follow you Mike!! ;D
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There's a possible alternative at Leo's. An '02 Aprilia Falco-31k for $3k. I'd go for that b4 the 51 because of my love for my '02 Futura. The Rotax motors are bulletproof-I haven't had to change a single shim in mine @43k! In that time I've had 1 bad coil and this winter replaced weepy waterpump seal. I would've bought a Falco but I didn't fit-needed to drop pegs several inches to accommodate my ancient 6'3" carcase. I've never been impressed w Honda-had an '83 "Cam Eater" Interceptor,I do love my GL650 though. Just the ramblings of this old fart. GJ ::)
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That cam-eater represents the worst motor Honda probably ever made. You're missing out if you judged every other Honda based on that one experience.
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I had one of those cam eaters. The cams shafts were not harden to the right spec.. But Honda replaced all the cams and the rocker arms for free. All you had to do was ask. The bike still was the best bike out there and it is to this day a collectible.
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Well yeah but that masked the real problem, which was insufficient oiling of the valve train. Honda basically redesigned the engine to rectify this.
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Yup, PKPK is right. The first indestuctable VFR was in 86 and stayed that way till this generation, the verdict is still out, we will see.
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I guess I should tell everyone, I picked up an 04 rc51 three weeks ago out of Louisville. Thanks for all the input. I would still like to hear any comments anyone has about the bike.
Thanks
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Well yeah but that masked the real problem, which was insufficient oiling of the valve train. Honda basically redesigned the engine to rectify this.
Like I said I had that bike and you are wrong. They pulled a little pipe out of a banjo bolt to give it more oil but that did not fix it. New harder cam shafts fix it for good.
Before the new cams they failed at 6 to 12,000 miles. I put another 40,000 miles on the bike with no problem after the new cams.
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Don't ride in front of Roger, LOL!
Congrats on your new (old) toy!
What becomes of the Kaw?
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Like I said I had that bike and you are wrong. They pulled a little pipe out of a banjo bolt to give it more oil but that did not fix it. New harder cam shafts fix it for good. Before the new cams they failed at 6 to 12,000 miles. I put another 40,000 miles on the bike with no problem after the new cams.
Suit yerself. I've got plenty of knowledgeable sources that tell me the same thing (it's not my opinion or interpretation.)
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I had at the time letters from Honda. The banjo bolt was done on my bike at 3,000 miles. The cams failed on my bike just after 6,000 miles and they went fast. I was on a road trip and was adjusting them and had to turn around and go home. All 4 cam shafts were bad and my dad did a hardnest test on them and they were soft.
And if I remember right the Saber didn't have this problem.
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According to Rob Parker, his Sabre did have a problem with the cam journals not getting sufficient oiling. Plus there was some sort of twisting of the crank that was suspected to be poor main bearing design.
I don't think this is worth disagreeing over. There is no shortage of stuff on the web relating to the early Honda V4 that makes it clear it wasn't one of their finer moments. At least they fixed things so the Sabre/Magna and Interceptors wound up being good bikes.
I find this article seems to encapsulate most of everything I've heard. http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycle/text/v4hist.html (http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycle/text/v4hist.html)
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My 84 V65 Sabre just had cam noise due to the cam bearings having too much clearace, especially with the 3/4 bearing circumference on the outer bearings. What I did was take all the cam bearing caps off and surface plate them to get the clearance down to min spec levels using Plastigage as my measurement tool. Took moost of an afternoon to get it right. After that I could set the clearance to factory specs with no noise. Bike has over 70K on it now as I service it from time to time for the guy I sold it too. Still running strong - great mids for a bike of that time.....
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That sounds like something Rob did too. Did you get the procedure off the old SabMag list? Rob also said something about having to properly align the rear final drive pumpkin to minimize the crank problem.
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My bike had none of those problems. Just the cams. And they were soft. The cam lobs wore out. I did all my own service work and I knew you had to use 2 feeler gauges. I even had that tool for adjusting the tappets. Still have it and it works good even on my 86 interceptor.
Very good read.
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That sounds like something Rob did too. Did you get the procedure off the old SabMag list? Rob also said something about having to properly align the rear final drive pumpkin to minimize the crank problem.
No - I was kind of a rebel at the time and my Dad being a machinist gave me some advice on how to do it after I kind of thought it up on my own. I did it when the bike was still in warrenty in 1984 as Burnsville Sports Center weren't much help (see how old I am... ;-). No problems with the rear pumpkin on mine.....
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It indeed was an interesting read.... I remember the cam puller tool being out but I never got one. After tightening the cam bearing clearances and setting the valves with 2 feeler gauges the bike ran quiet and well. I still have the Honda 10mm offset wrench in my toolbox - a favorite for weird fastener locations....
Never a carb problem on that bike. I just removed the limiter caps and adjusted the idle mixture so it would actually idle without the stock lean stumble bumble. Never even took the carbs out in the 22K miles I had the bike.
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I guess I should tell everyone, I picked up an 04 rc51 three weeks ago out of Louisville. Thanks for all the input. I would still like to hear any comments anyone has about the bike.
Thanks
Congrats on the new to you bike Mike. Looking forward to seeing you on it when the weather cooperates.
BTW, this thread is worthless without pics.
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I owned an 03 for just about a year. I was mostly stock*.
In my year of ownership I learned a couple of things:
- it has the single worst seat in the history of production motorcycles
- WIth the fairing stay and the wide tank, steering lock and bruised thumbs come with the territory. After market bar options are limited.
- Strong internet community around them
- Brakes are feel very weak, and in fact the rear brake is pretty worthless. No feel. They work pretty well, but no feel without an after market radial master cylinder.
- Ride is firm
- a Lot of engine heat.... I highly recommend either a fan upgrade or installing fins inside the fairing or both.
- Tank range n the 110-135 Mile area. Lest you be in the middle of nowhere and run out of gas and have to call someone to bring a gas can (...ahem...errr....)
-* They sound Awesome with a Leo Vinci exhaust.
-* Throttle response is very very good with a honda race throttle tube
- heaps of strong predictable power
- Great gearbox
- Under 20 mph and or 3500 rpm it is one of the worst street motorcycles I have ever been on. It's hot, glitchy fuel, *snatchy throttle, limited maneuverability. SUPER high pegs. I believe that motorcyclist measured the seat to peg distance at 16.5 inches. ...
Above 30mph I have no problem saying that its probably the best sportbike i have ever had. Everything that's wrong with it under 20 mph is magic at speed. Feels light, super responsive, very predictable, just amazing. I kind of miss it actually.
In my case - I got a deal because some had raced it and then "*re-streeted" it (sans disclosure) as cheaply as possible and the little issues just kept adding up. I sold it with full disclosure.
Good luck - If you got a good one I am sure you'll like it.
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Picked up the bike in Nashville last week, had another bike along so didn't need to ride it. The little I did ride it I found out in a hurry it's a hand full. Got it home last night just in time to cover it in ice and snow.
At this point I'm sure it won't be my favorite bike, but looking forward to doing something different for a bit. Like any used bike it has some issues that I will need to take care of before I ride it for real.
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This thread is worthless without pics!
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the bike sure looks nice, super clean and looks mean!!
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Mike:
So we have had at least 2 good riding days so far.... What do you think?
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Pics! Pics! Pics!
Congratulations!